Capitol Columns 28

There's a similar in the B&W folder for comparison.

Very nice! The only thing that distracts for me is the brownish reflection at the top.

Matt, those are trees. I nudged the saturation on the red to bring them out a bit which I hoped would make that area more identifiable.

Carl, it's a very striking and unusual composition, but where your genius shows on this one is in the colors, in my opinion.

Glad you like it.

 

The steps and water were in full shade, so I reduced the blue cast and increased the yellow to emphasize the difference between shade and light.

the upper part should be cut I think - anyway great photo

The stairs are a bit strange. . . . . intentionally. They lead you right out of the frame, but hopefully you'll understand that in reality they lead you right up to the columns.

Brilliant composition. The tall columns on the right are integral to the image's rhythm and balance. I especially like both the coolness and horizontals of the stairs and pool edge as a stunning visual counter to the sun-warmed columns.

 

However, two things. The bases of the more forward (taller?) columns, especially the fourth from left, appear murky and therefore slightly distracting. I suggest some selective sharpening to those bases will help alleviate the problem. Also, I might lop off the fourth step and in doing so use the spacing to reduce the horizontal perspective slant, slight though noticeable (and measurable), at right.

I really like this. I too am looking at this and thinking maybe a little at the top should be cropped...not sure on that. I have seen other photos you have posted from this same place, and I am wondering just where is it? I go to DC all the time.......I really like the colors here.

I like the stairs! My first though was that they were out of place, and I would have framed them out of the picture. But then I started thinking of them as the meeting point between our world and the mirrored one. Sort of a fantasy tale in which someone would just walk them down, cross into the pool, and end up somewhere else... so I commend the idea of keeping them in.

 

The idea of the two worlds is also connected, I reckon, to the strong light/dark contrast of the two worlds we see here. A very well mastered effect.

I'm delighted with the mostly positive response on this one. I have a similar one with smoother water and sharper columns which I'll scan and upload for comparison.

 

Reducing the number of steps to three does make a subtle improvement, I think.

 

Interesting to see whether viewers approach the stairs as leading you down or out of the image. Not exactly your preferred location for a leading line.

 

The National Arboretum is off New York Ave NE. I had seen a few shots of the columns, but had never been there before. I'll be back. :-)

reducing the steps to three does have a subtle difference of improvement. odd numbers tend to sit better than evens or so I have been told.

 

I will be on the look out for the other upload with the smoother water for comparison. I quite like this one and find int tranquil in nature. The comment on the colors or tones is spot on.

 

Knicki

My eye starts near the top of the columns and eventually ends up going up the stairs. The columns are the stongest lines, but also the site of greatest contrast. It's not just the flow of the line, but also the pull of the deep shadows that cause my eye to go up. I find this quite interesting, espcially since the stairs are conceptually "contained." It's pretty clear given the proximity of the base of the columns, even had you said nothing.

Aaron is right, in a sense, that the strenght of the lights tend to spoil the "walking down the stairs into the reflected world" effect which I liked, and rather suggest the "walking out of the picture" effect.

 

Maybe you should perform an ultimate PS act, and put the cute jumping kid of another column picture onto the steps...! The flow of action would then become clear!

Carl, I like the stairs that, as you say, lead one to the real world. I think that the 'problem' is that the top section is dark enough that it looks like it could be a "mistake." Knowing the source, though, I knew that it was intentional... here's a little thing I tried with it in PS... hope it doesn't offend.

 

I tried inverting it, too... it almost made me a little dizzy...

Matt, I like it. Can you describe briefly how you did it, please.

It's just a little something i came up with while trying to add a gradient from color to B&W (or vice versa depending on which way you're going). I pasted your photo in photo shop and then adjusted the color, contrast, and saturation until I liked how the top section looked. Then threw another layer of the original on top of that and erased the grass on the new layer. THen I turned down the pressure on the eraser (setting it to function as an airbrush) and removed some of the second layer from the white bricks.

 

I found that it works better and doesn't leave any visible hard lines, especially if you use a fuzzy brush.

i would LOVE this turned up side down...

Don't the steps look strange to you?

no - i prefer it like that, upside down - it gives it a much more 'dreamy' and unreal quality, it's much less straight forward than just a reflection, but that's in my humble opinion....

What I like about your idea is that the sky seems heavier, and the columns seem to be needed to hold it up. Maybe some 'curves' adjustments to the steps would solve the 'upside down' problem. Thanks for the idea.

ur welcome carl :)

After Copernicus destroyed the Ptolemaic conception of the universe, with its "celestial sphere" accounting for the sky and stars, it was only a matter of time until someone offered empirical verification as to exactly how it is that the sky manages to stay up there without falling.

 

You did it, Carl. Now go get us a quark and a neutrino.

ROTFL . . . .

 

Please let me know if you see any other unintended earth shattering observations. The ones that are intentional invariably fall apart on closer examination.

Well, I would say just be careful, Carl. Your bio picture indicates that someone is shooting back.

 

I think I know who it might be. . . .